Crowds gather across Caithness to honour war dead
SEVERAL thousand people turned out to honour the war dead at memorials, churches and cemeteries in Caithness on Sunday.
The presence of Second World War veterans inevitably continues to shrink at the services and parades organised by local branches of the Royal British Legion Scotland on a day when Remembrance Sunday coincided with the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War 1.
But there continues to be a strong representation from youth, uniformed and service organisations at the events in Thurso, Wick and villages.
In Thurso, threatened rain showers held off as the six-strong RBS branch colour party headed a parade from the clubrooms at the Riverside to the town’s war memorial in Sir John’s Square.
The streets surrounding the square were cordoned off to vehicular traffic for the duration of the service at the cenotaph which was led by branch padre, the retired Church of Scotland minister, the Rev Ronnie Johnstone.
Over 100 members of the public joined those taking part in the parade in the two minute’s silence observed at 11am.
After the playing of the Last Post by Pentland Brass Band and the recitation of Binyan’s Lines, Royal Marine veteran Duncan Cormack gave a reading of the epitaph on the Kohima memorial which remembers the Allied troops who served in Burma. It includes the lines: "When you go home, tell them of us and say: for their tomorrow, we gave our today.’
Mr Cormack, 87, of Thorsdale View, Thurso is a veteran of the D-Day landings as well as the Far East campaign.
His Burma Star Association colleague Jimmy Sinclair, also from Thurso, laid the wreath on behalf of the association. It was one of 22 arranged around the memorial, which fronts Sir John’s Square gardens.
Local piper Alan Plowman played "Flowers of the Forest" as, first, Caithness Lord Lieutenant Anne Dunnett, then, representatives of the organisations stepped forward to pay homage to the war with the floral tributes.
The parade then re-formed and marched the short distance to St Peter’s and St Andrew’s Church for the Remembrance Day service.
In the afternoon, branch officials laid wreaths at the town’s cemetery in memory of local servicemen killed in wars.
DESPITE the heavy rain, hundreds of people congregated at the war memorial in Wick to pay their respects to the fallen.
Caithness civic leader Gail Ross laid a wreath on behalf of Highland Council and a parade was led by the Wick RBLS pipe band from the memorial to St Fergus Church and included veterans and representatives of uniformed and armed services, cadets and youth organisations.
At the church, the Rev John Nugent, who is also the Wick RBL branch padre, conducted the memorial service and paid tribute to those who never came back serving their country in conflict.
In the afternoon, Wick RBL president George MacDonald led a convoy of cars to Wick cemetery to place wreaths at the graves of soldiers killed in action.
Afterwards, they headed to Ackergill War memorial on the outskirts of Wick as part of its tradition of visiting one of seven memorials located in its area every year where a service took place.
Mr MacDonald said that despite the awful weather conditions, was touched by the amount of people who came out to pay their respects.
"There were around 40 people who came to the war graves at Wick cemetery with the majority of those heading to Ackergill war memorial," he said.
"The rain did clear in the afternoon but unfortunately it fell heavily in the morning but there was still a good turnout who joined in the parade."
Memorial parades and services also took place at villages, including Berriedale, Bower, Castletown, Canisbay, Clyth, Corsback, Dunbeath, Latheron, Lybster and Watten.
